KAIST sues Samsung, Qualcomm for patent infringement

By Jun Ji-hye

KAIST IP has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm in the United States, claiming the companies violated the university's patent tied to key semiconductor technologies, industry sources said Sunday.

KAIST IP is a subsidiary of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in charge of managing intellectual property (IP) belonging to the nation's top science and research university.

The latest lawsuit came after the licensing arm of the university filed a similar suit against Samsung, Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries in 2016. In June last year, a U.S. federal jury in Texas found Samsung guilty of infringing U.S. Patent No. 6,885,055 that relates to FinFet, ordering the Korean firm to pay a $400 million fine to the university. Qualcomm and GlobalFoundries were also found to have infringed the patent, but were not ordered to pay damages.

KAIST IP filed the new patent infringement suit Feb. 14, claiming Samsung Electronics has additionally violated its patent in new products production including smartphones.

FinFETs are the three-dimensional transistor structures that help send current more stably and efficiently. The technology is the key to producing modern processors.

The technology was developed in early 2000 in partnership with KAIST and Prof. Lee Jong-ho who was one of the key researchers at Wonkwang University. Lee is now a professor at Seoul National University.

In its written accusation, KAIST IP reportedly claimed the defendants have not stopped infringing on the university's patent despite last year's court ruling, saying they have continued to develop and commercialize new products by utilizing the FinFet technology.

KAIST IP claimed those products included smartphones such as Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy Note 9 as well as the next generation modem chip Exynos Modem 5100 and infotainment system supporting drivers.

Regarding the issue, Samsung Electronics said the technology used in its products was different from the university's patent technology.

"There is difference between KAIST's patent technology and Samsung's production method," a Samsung Electronics official said. "We will fully explain this during the trial."

Industry officials said Samsung may have to pay a larger fine, compared to the previous $4 million, if it loses the suit.

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